For decades sharks have been vilified in the media, with Hollywood films like 'Jaws' and sensationalised media stories dominating the perception of human-shark encounters. Sharks have a sinister reputation like no other in the marine environment, but should humans be scared of them?
To kickstart the shark debate in Ireland, the Irish Basking Shark Study Group (IBSSG), Royal Dublin Society and the Irish-American Embassy have teamed up to host an all-island lecture tour of the infamous shark ecologist Dr. Peter Klimley (aka Dr. Hammerhead).
In a series of talks Dr. Peter Klimley will help us discover the true nature of the shark and the motivation behind aggressive behaviour. Dr. Kimley uses a unique style of interactive talk, including dramatic video footage to discuss and explain the truth behind shark encounters in the real world.
VENUES INCLUDE:
Queen's University Belfast - 30th September @ 13:00
Carndonagh Secondary School, Donegal - 1st October @13:30 (School based workshop for pupils only)
GMIT, Galway - 2nd October @ 13:00
National Aquarium, Salthill Galway - 2nd October @18:00
*All talks are free entry and open to the public apart from the Carndonagh Secondary School talk which is open to school students only*
Book your place early to avoid disappointment.
For RDS Dublin use this linkl: http://events.rds.ie/?eventID=22572
For National Aquarium, Salthill Galway, email info@nationalaquarium.ie or call 00353 (0) 91585100
For QUB and GMIT contact the event organisaer Donal Griffin via email: dgriffin01@qub.ac.uk
DR. HAMMERHEAD
Dr. Klimley’s research interests revolve around the use of telemetric techniques; specializing in the development of behavioural and environmental sensors, computer-decoded telemetry, automated data logging, and archival tags. He has designed and built multi-sensor ultrasonic transmitters and used them to relate the highly directional migratory movements of hammerhead sharks to local patterns in the earth's geomagnetic field. He was involved in the development of the first automated tag-detecting monitors and was the first to deploy them in the marine environment to ascertain the degree of residency of hammerhead sharks at a seamount and their emigration in response to local upwelling. A major objective of Dr Klimley’s Biotelemetry Laboratory is to disseminate innovative remote sensing technology among scientists on an international level.
His telemetric oriented shark studies have been featured in two dozen television documentaries, in a number of countries including Australia, UK, Germany, USA and France. He recently was featured in a 10-episode television series, "Shark Men," which is a reality show that brought scientists together with non-scientists to tag large sharks at the Revillagigedos Islands off Mexico and Cocos Islands off Costa Rica.
Dr Klimley’s research activities has earned him the name ‘Dr Hammerhead,’ as he is known to have held his breath while diving up to 100 feet deep in order to hand-tag hammerhead sharks with a dart gun.